Spinning method and apparatus



, April 29, 1969 J. TA ET AL 3,440,811

SPINNING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed Sept. 28, 19s? Sheet 1 of 2 INVENTORS" KE Fu KUT'A os uwum wn'mumae BY (mi 4% April 29, 1969 Sheet Filed Sept. 28, 1967 MAR.

mum

BY MM AGGMT United States Patent 67,0 Int. Cl. D01h'7/04;

D02g 3/00 US. Cl. 5758.89 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Separated fibers are spun into a twisted yarn by suspending them in a stream of air or water, gradually reducing the cross section of the fiber laden stream while simultaneously rotating the same about its longitudinal axis and withdrawing the fluid from it, whereby the fibers are twisted into a yarn which may be withdrawn. The apparatus employed consists of a rotating cylindrical shell impervious to the fluid and lined with a filter formed with an axially tapering passage. A stream of fluid and suspended fibers is fed to one end of the shell, the fluid is drawn off with suction from the filter and the yarn from the passage at the other end of the shell.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for continuously spinning opened, separated and flying fibers into a twisted yarn at high speed.

In conventional twisting mechanisms such as ring spinning frames flyer spinning frames, pot spinning frames, etc., the twisting and taking-up operations are carried out by rotating a package (a wood pipe around which twisted yarn is wound), but, if, in order to step up the production, the rotary speed or size of the package is increased, there arise problems such as vibration of the machine, need for increase in motive power, etc., and in a ring or flyer spinning frame, dofling becomes complicated.

It is also known to draw the opened fibers into a feed cylinder under reduced pressure by the rotation of said cylinder, sending the fibers into a rotary drum rotating in an opposite direction to that of the cylinder, and allowing the fibers assembled in layer form on the inner surface of said drum to adhere to the tail end of a twisted yarn. In this method, however, because the cylinder used is a T-head cylinder, the direction in which the fibers advance is changed, with the result that, at the time of twisting, the fibers wind in belt-like form around the previously twisted yarn, and, also, because a large drum must be used, the apparatus is bulky.

In other known methods, the opened fibers are transferred into a rotating cone-shaped porous basket by an air stream, while the air is exhausted radially from the basket and the fibers are spun from a rotating nozzle positioned at the apex of said basket. However, this method is defective in that it is hard to convey the fibers to the apex of the basket, making it difficult to obtain a uniformly twisted yarn.

An object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for continuously spinning opened, separated and flying fibers into a twisted yarn at high speed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus capable of varying the properties of the twisted yarn according to the intended use.

Other objects and characteristic features of this invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of this invention, particularly 3,440,811 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 if read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of an apparatus for carrying out the method of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a modified embodiment of the spinning nozzle used in this invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 1VIV of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5-7 are views showing modified embodiments of the filter used in this invention; and

FIG 8 is a sectional view taken on the line VIIIVIII of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and2, a hollow cylinder or shell 1 is supported at both its open ends in bearings 3 and 4 and has a filter 2 mounted therein, said filter consisting of porous material (for example, plastic foam, sintered metal, or the like) and defining an axially tapering passage or space 2', therein said cylinder 1 being provided with an external gear rim 10. A driver shaft 7 is provided at its center with a gear 9 which meshes with said gear rim 10 and is held to the supporting frame of the apparatus by bearings 5 and 6, said driver shaft 7 extending through the frame and having a pulley 8 fixed to its forward end. The pulley 8 is driven by a motor (not shown).

The passage or space 2 in the filter 2 is connected at its wide end to a feed pipe 11, and, at the other end, to the inlet 13 of a duct 12 connected to an exhaust pipe 15 by a flange 16. The exhaust pipe 15 leads to an elxhaust blower (not shown). A nozzle 17 is provided inside said duct 12 in axial alignment with the apex of the passage 2" in the end face of the filter 2.

When fibers opened and separated by an appropriate means are drawn by the exhaust blower through the feed pipe 11 into the space 2 in a continuous stream, the air passes through the filter 2 and is discharged from the end face of the filter into the exhaust pipe 15- through the inlet 13 thereof, while the fibers are deflected to the apex of the space 2', where they cling to the filter surface and are rotated by a revolving air stream generated by the rotation of the cylinder 1.

A twisted yarn can thus be withdrawn through the nozzle 17 from the apex of the filter space 2, the yarn being formed by the rotation of the cylinder 1 from the fibers staying collecting at the apex and attaching themselves to the end of said yarn by being twisted integrally therewith, the resulting twisted yarn being wound up around a take-up roller 18 as it comes from the nozzle 17.

The end portion of the nozzle 17 opposite the apex of space 2' is small in inner diameter so as to grip the twisted yarn, said inner diameter being to prevent air from flowing into the nozzle, and to prevent the twisted yarn from rotating in the nozzle while permitting passage of the twisted yarn. The rotation of the twisted yarn in the nozzle can be prevented by making the nozzle of triangular or polygonal section. Further, the yarn can be gripped more firmly by means of an insert 17 in the nozzle 17 which has a small bore as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The insert 17 consists of rubber or plastic which resists the heat of friction and the abrasion caused by the passing yarn.

The pores of the filter 2 are of such size as make it difficult for the fibers to pass.

If the space 2 in the filter 2 is conical as shown in FIG. 1, the opened fibers floating in the air stream move towards the apex of said space, and adhere there over their full length to the inner surface of the filter by the action of the air stream, whereby bending of the fibers is prevented.

The axial length of the filter is greatest at the outer circumference and decreases towards the center, so that the resistance of the filter to air flow increases from the center towards the outer circumference, and the velocity of the air stream in the space 2 increases towards the center. Accordingly, the fibers are assembled in the form of bunches near the apex of the space 2' by the air stream.

FIGS. 58 illustrated modified shapes of the filter. The filter 2 shown in FIG. 5 is shaped so that the inner surface thereof which defines the space 2 is curved to prevent the bending of the fibers when they are assembled in bunch form.

The filter 2 shown in FIG. 6 is shaped so that the inner surface thereof which defines the space 2' is corrugated to lessen the surface of the filter in contact with the fibers flying near the inner surface of the filter, thereby making it easy for the fibers to move.

The filter 2 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is shaped so as to have several radial ribs 2" by means of which the filter is fastened to the inner surface of the cylinder 1. This filter is thin to reduce the drop in air pressure across the filter.

In spinning, a twisted yarn is at first inserted from the nozzle 17 in to the apex of the filter space so that the rotating fiber bunch formed at said apex attaches itself to the end of said inserted yarn, and yarn is thereafter drawn out in a continuous strand by the rollers 18. Since opened fibers are continuously supplied from the feed pipe 11, fiber bunches are formed one after another at the apex of the filter space 2, sequentially attach themselves to the trailing end of the twisted yarn by being integrally twisted therewith, and are drawn out. Thus, a twisted yarn is spun continuously.

The count of the spun yarn depends upon the rate at which fibers are fed into the filter space and the velocity at which the spun yarn is drawn from the nozzle 17. The number of twists of the spun yarn depends upon the takeup velocity and the rotary speed of the cylinder 1.

The opened and separated fibers move into the filters space in the same direction in which they are drawn out, and are assembled in bunch form without being scattered, whereby spinning can be carried out with good yields. The cylinder 1 together with the filter 2 is very light in weight and, therefore, can be rotated at a high speed.

The afore-described air stream may be replaced as a fiber conveying medium by a water stream to fully achieve the purpose intended.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of spinning separated fibers into a yarn, which comprises the steps of suspending said fibers in a stream of fluid, moving said fluid stream with the suspended fibers in a predetermined direction and rotating the same about an axis entending in said direction, gradually reducing the cross-section of the moving and rotating fluid stream toward an apex where the fibers are twisted into a yarn, and withdrawing the yarn and the fluid from said stream, said method being characterized in that the fluid in the stream is contained against dispersion laterally outwardly from the stream and is withdrawn in an axial direction from the apex of the stream so that the fluid velocity in the rotating and gradually reducing stream increases inwardly toward the apex to facilitate uniform twisting of the fibers at that point.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 which is further characterized in that the fluid in said stream is air.

3. An apparatus for spinning separated fibers into a yarn comprising, in combination:

(a) a hollow shell of fluid-impervious material having an axis and two axially open ends;

(b) a filter member mounted in said shell, said filter member being formed with an axial passage therethrough, said passage tapering in an axial direction from one open end to the other open end of said shell;

(c) feeding means for feeding a stream of fluid having fibers suspended therein to one axial end of said shell,

(1) said filter member being of a porous material permeable to said fluid while retaining said fibers;

(d) suction means at said other end of the shell for withdrawing said fluid from said filter member;

(e) drive means for rotating said shell about the axis thereof; and

(f) take-up means for axially withdrawing a twisted yarn from said passage through said other end of said shell.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said take-up means includes a nozzle arranged axially opposite said passage at said other end of said shell and means for drawing a yarn from said passage through said nozzle, said filter member having a face about said passage, and said suction means including a suction inlet extending about said nozzle contiguously adjacent said face.

5. An apparauts as set forth in claim 3, wherein said shell is cylindrical.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,972,221 2/1961 Wilke et a1. 5758.89 XR 2,700,866 2/l955 Strang 57156 2,817,947 12/1957 Strang. 3,161,920 12/1964 Stalego. 3,295,307 1/1967 Kyame ct al. 5758.89 3,368,339 2/1968 Negishi 57-58.89

FOREIGN PATENTS 536,990 2/1957 Canada. 1,153,122 3/1958 France.

880,963 10/ 1961 Great Britain.

DONALD E. WATKINS, Primary Examin er.

US. Cl. X.R. 57-156 

